Does "clipping" really have a future in the social media marketing world?

Haven’t heard of clipping yet? You’re probably not alone. Clipping is the process of taking short bites of content and sharing them across the internet. Pretty straightforward, but it’s a relatively new strategy that a number of brands, including Ramp and Skittles, have experimented with over the last year.

The question now seems to be: does clipping have a future in the social media marketing world?

It definitely has a future in politics and sports. In fact, if you consume any content on the internet in those two areas, you’re already very familiar with clipping as it’s probably how you consume a decent chunk of your content (think short NBA highlights you see on Insta the day after a game).

The goal of this whole clipping strategy is usually to drive attention and awareness in a crowded environment that’s now being clogged by AI-generated content. In fact, according to one agency owner quoted in this Marketing Brew story, brands are using clipping to “manufacture and create virality” by attempting to mimic what creators are doing.

That sounds like a very dangerous road to go down for many brands. Social media marketers have spent YEARS talking executives and leaders off the ledge of attempting to “manufacture virality.” I mean, how many leaders have asked you to “just make it go viral” over the last 10 years? Now you’re telling me social media marketers want to attempt to manufacture that virality with clipping? I’m not sure I’m buying that.

What’s more, let’s loop back to the comparison with politics and sports. Again, clipping has been a key strategy in getting exposure for those two industries for a while now. But, let’s think about those two industries for a minute. In both, people are EXTREMELY emotional about their sports teams (GO WOLVES!) or parties—this we definitely know. For brands to think they can employ the same strategy and see even a small percentage of the same results politics and sports see with clipping seems almost laughable.

And, to be fair, most brands probably aren’t comparing themselves to politics or sports. But it still seems like a dangerous comparison. “Hey, it works for the NBA, maybe we should give it a try.”

Lastly, the cost. From what I’ve read, these clipping campaigns can range from $25,000 to $100,000. Now, I’m sure that’s for a big, national campaign. There are probably more cost-effective ways to do this. But still, that’s a big investment. Especially at a time when we’re being asked to justify those big investments even more. Guessing the “we’re going to make our content go viral” justification probably wouldn’t carry a lot of weight with the CMO.

So, does clipping have a real future in our industry? I’m a little skeptical. I'm sure some brands will experiment with this approach in 2006, just as Ramp and Skittles have so far. But for the lion’s share of companies, this feels like a reach. It’s a decent-sized investment. There’s a limited track record of brands doing this successfully. And it feels like we’re chasing the wrong goals with this. Instead of focusing on building much-needed trust and loyalty, chasing virality definitely feels like the wrong goal for 2026.

Growing up in Woodbury, Minn., it felt like half my friends’ parents worked at 3M. The company has always been a big deal on the east side of St. Paul. So over the last couple years that I've been working with the 3M team, these opportunities have taken on a particular importance for me.

Last week, I had the chance to speak again at the 3M Experience—this time on employee advocacy and how employees can become true advocates for the organization (a topic I’ve been spending a lot of time on lately).

Big thanks to Kirsten Salmanowicz, Brandon Chan, Joline Mostert and Tricia Fitzl for pulling it all together. A tremendous event as always!

Could Facebook be making a big comeback?

According a recent post by Link in Bio’s Rachel Karten, the answer might be “yes.”

Engagement levels are up. Facebook is courting creators. And trends are back on Facebook (all according to Rachel’s article).

And while I’m not questioning the data presented here or Rachel’s reporting (continue to LOVE Link in Bio), this doesn’t pass the eye test for me. In talking to friends from across different age groups and walks of life, NO ONE mentions Facebook anymore. In looking at client sites and in my competitive research, I haven’t seen the spikes (or even increases) in engagements presented here. And, to be completely honest, Facebook, to me, still seems like the place older people hang out (and there’s much fewer of those old people hanging out there than there was 5-6 years ago). That’s not a bad thing at all—but it is a pretty narrow demographic.

Case in point: this recent Social Media Today article that gets at a lot of how I feel about Facebook.

That’s just my observation—I’d be curious if you’re seeing evidence of this Facebook comeback in your feeds?

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Why TikTok’s comment section is driving the majority of first purchases now

Key quote: “Today, top-performing content on TikTok falls into two buckets: comments by users, and educational content posted by creators or the brand or retailer.” For retailers, especially, a solid comment strategy seems like a must-have right now.

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If you’ve been thinking about signing up for SOCIAL//IRL, this is your nudge.
We’re now less than a month away from June 3 and I’m starting to lock in the format for the day. This won’t be a sit-back-and-listen kind-I'm-going-to-talk-at-you-for-six-hours kind of workshop.

It’s going to be:

• Hands-on work on your actual content
• Real-time feedback (from me and the group)
• Pressure-testing your strategy—not just talking about it

Which is exactly why I’m very purposefully keeping it small. And I’ve already seen a lot of great interest and a number of people signed up that I’m excited about.

If any of that sounds interesting or useful, you sign up right here.